I was inspired by Sgt. Brad Turner—aka the grill sergeant—who whipped up an amazing yellow bbq sauce when he was trying to slay the Flay in a FN throwdown. Hence the name ‘sunshine bbq sauce‘.

I didn’t watch the show long enough to see if he actually did win, but I tried to memorize some of the ingredients he used as I rushed out the door. I took it from there and gave it my spin.

This sauce rocks! It’s seven, no, eight kinds of delicious.

It’s pretty undutch but at the same time it’s also a lot like our Dutch piccalilli, only in a sweeter jacket and with different vegetables. Very unlike anything I’ve ever tasted in combination with bbq chicken. But that’s probably because BBQ isn’t really embedded in our DNA just yet.

Finely mince all the vegetables and grate the garlic. Toss the veggies with 2 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Combine the yellow mustard with the grated ginger, light brown sugar, tabasco and juice of 1/2 a lime.

Set your BBQ or oven up for direct cooking and roast the vegetables at 400Fº (200Cº) for 20 minutes, while stirring now and then. As soon as they’re done you add them to the mustard mix. Take out a big scoop and puree it.

Season your chicken, spay them with a little oil and grill them until they have a 170Fº (76Cº) core temperature. Baste them with the pureed sauce and give them an additional 30 seconds on each side.

Top the grilled chicken with the sauce and serve with BBQ potatoes and a refreshing cucumber salad.

As a variation you can also add a finely minced chili pepper, jalapeno or peppadew to the sauce.

Thanks a million! I tried to find the original recipe and did find the food network movie only to find out it’s not available for the Netherlands (or Europe?). So if I miss an episode I can’t go back and check them online. Looks like I was fairly close.

Thanks for introducing me to all these great new flavors, Kay! I finally found some Peppadew Mustard at a cheese shop in Wisconsin so I can make this now after dreaming of it for months. I was curious about the original Throwdown episode and found the video at:

Dear Kay, you have a very warm and nice place here! The recipes and your comments are absolutely amazing and though I am not much of a cook you inspire me to try and I love it! Wish you all the best and please keep posting)) Cheers from Zurich

This recipe and especially the saus is amazing. It’s truly an explosion of nice flavours all at once that blend really good together, you’ve captured the sweet, sour, spicy, refreshing nicely and the vegitables combined in the saus really make it balance out perfectly! I’d really enjoyed this meal, can’t wait to make it again tomorow.

Kay,
I was researching some stuff and came across your recipe adventure with my Sunshine BBQ Sauce. You honor and humble me with your gracious words and the wonderful remake on the sauce. Thank you!
PS
The actual recipe is in the Throwdown Compilation Cookbook. If I can ever help, please let me know!
Sincerely,
Brad Turner aka The Grill Sergeant!